Shards of Koharu
by Lavender Valentine
Summary: A collection of ficlets written for the 30Shards Community on LiveJournal. Koharucentric.
1. Predator and Prey

**Title:** Predator and Prey  
**Original Publication: **5/17/05  
**Character:** Koharu  
**Theme:** #9 Sunset  
**Rating:** T/PG-13  
**Word Count:** 179  
**Summary:** Koharu fears the sunset…

**Predator and Prey**

Koharu had learned to fear the setting of the sun, for vicious animals often hunted their prey at night.

Daytime meant work, hard work, toiling in the oil-merchant's vineyard, reaping a harvest of fuel. Daytime meant hands and feet that ached from her labors, tightening a cask here, emptying a large vat there. Daytime meant commanding her body to move quickly, for those who did not work with haste, did not eat.

And when the sun would begin its slow descent into the sky, her back would stiffen and her belly would tighten into a knotted string. Daytime was difficult and long, but at least it was safe. The setting sun, however, meant feeling the oil-merchant's son's eyes as they undressed her with a hungry gleam, hearing his quickened breaths of desire.

She could sense that the predator who stalked her had grown impatient. Shoulders taut with dread, Koharu watched the fiery ball as it sunk into the horizon. The sun was setting, and she wondered if tonight would be the night when her two-legged terror would finally pounce.


	2. What a Girl Wants

**Title:** What a Girl Wants  
**Original Publication:** 5/27/05  
**Character(s):** Koharu  
**Theme:** #7 "Longing"  
**Rating:** T/PG-13  
**Genres:** Drama  
**Word Count:** 283  
**Summary:** What Koharu really wants…

**What a Girl Wants**

Koharu remembered the first time she noticed him. How could she forget, when he mesmerized her with his smile? His soft eyes brimmed with intelligence, studying her as she worked, following her practiced movements with undisguised curiosity.

It was nearly impossible, trying to do her job when he was so near. He awakened feelings she'd long suppressed, desires best left neglected. Her state of mind would be happier if she ignored him, for what was the use in longing for something that wasn't hers? Nevertheless, his arrival sent tendrils of anticipation curling through her stomach, in spite of her efforts to think of other things.

Eventually she went to him, as she knew she must. She'd tried to deny herself the feel of his smooth skin, the warmth of his body, but the longings within her were too strong to refuse. With arms open in silent invitation, she welcomed his enthusiastic embrace, nuzzling her face into his soft black hair.

But the joy she felt was fleeting, for the tiny child's mother called her wandering son back to her side. Reluctantly, Koharu released the toddler and allowed him to return to his parent's loving care. It would be much longer before she would be able to release the wistful envy that coursed through her at the sound of the child's delighted laughter.

With a heart suddenly grown heavy, Koharu turned to her work. As she performed her menial tasks, she allowed herself to dream – a luxury not permitted by the tension-filled slumber of the night. And in those dreams, she longed for the day when her fingers would caress the dewy cheek of an infant of her own, one with soft, violet eyes.


	3. Better Than Nothing

**Title:** Better Than Nothing  
**Original Publication:** 6/10/05  
**Character(s):** Koharu  
**Theme:** #10 Weapon  
**Rating:** T/PG-13  
**Word Count:** 262  
**Summary:** A weapon isn't always a sword…

**Better Than Nothing**

Those who held weapons held power. Those who held power ruled over those who did not. And Koharu - who had neither weapons nor power – was but a speck of grime beneath their feet.

Perhaps weapons were overrated; they certainly hadn't done her father and older brother any good. One battle was all it took to kill them, their corpses tossed across the field like twigs snapped by a storm. Her mother had retrieved her father's sword and armor, but it proved useless to her as well; within the month, she and Koharu's younger sister were carried off by a spring plague.

But as she heard the labored breathing of the man who was chasing her in the dark, Koharu began to consider the possibility that a weapon – _any_ weapon – was better than nothing at all. It was a pity she didn't have her father's sword, for she'd rather bury the blade in her own chest than surrender to the twisted lusts of the one who hunted her. But she had _nothing_, not so much as a –

She tripped. Scrambling around in the darkness, her hand brushed across a heavy stick. As the heavy body of her pursuer fell on top of her, Koharu swung her newly acquired weapon repeatedly, damning the man with each blow. And when his movements ceased, she fled into the darkness.

She kept the stick, however. It would do her little good when the oil-merchant's guards came looking for her, but she found immense comfort in keeping it. After all, any weapon was better than no weapon.


	4. First Impressions

**Title:** First Impressions  
**Original Publication:** 6/24/05  
**Character(s):** Koharu  
**Theme:** #1 - Legend  
**Rating: **PG/K+  
**Word Count:** 287  
**Summary: **Meeting a legend for the first time…

**First Impressions**

"You don't really believe in such things, do you?" Koharu had asked all those years ago, her breath hitching with excitement. "A hanyou who attacked a village, all for some jewel? You're always telling me these wild stories. I think you're just trying to scare me."

Koharu's older brother had smiled then, reaching over to ruffle her hair. "The people of that village swear to the truth of the tale, and I've seen the elderly miko for myself – she has one eye, Koharu, just like the story says. But you're not to worry about such things, Little Sister. You have me to protect you."

She had hugged him, enjoying the feel of his heavy hand as he patted her back. She had always felt so safe around her elder brother, knowing his hands were rough and calloused from countless hours spent honing his skills as an archer. He'd been a member of the daimyo's elite guard during his short life…

The scream of the oil-merchant's son rang through the marsh, and Koharu watched in amazement as a dog-eared creature smashed his fist into her tormentor's face. The _thing_ had dropped out of nowhere, rushing to the defense of the other young woman, the one with the large weapon on her back, and now the oil-merchant's son and the guards were running for their lives.

Shaking with relief, Koharu turned to her accidental savior. Whatever he was, he wasn't human. As the rising sun lit the waters of the marsh on fire, illuminating the brilliant gold of the creature's eyes and the silvery white of his hair, Koharu felt a fresh pang of grief for her long-dead brother. How she wished he could be here to see _this_!


	5. In Memoriam

**Title: **_In Memoriam_  
**Original Publication: **7/22/05  
**Character:** Koharu  
T**heme:** #5 - Memories  
**Rating: **PG/K+  
**Word Count:** 395  
**Summary: **Koharu sees a difference…

**_In Memoriam_**

"…and he was nice to me. Very nice! He made me so happy!" Koharu squealed.

A choking sound brought her from her happy tale. Blinking, she studied the strange group that stood before her. They were wearing identical shocked expressions on their faces, all of them.

The monk was hastening to explain. "Now wait!" he cried as one of the young women advanced upon him in a threatening manner. "I haven't laid a finger on her…yet."

Amused, Koharu watched the holy man as he tried to placate the two angry young women. One of them in particular looked as if she wanted to clobber the living daylights out of the monk. Even now, the girl's hands were reaching for that huge weapon on her back, ready to bash Miroku-sama over the head.

It was interesting to see how much the monk had changed in just three years. Koharu knew that she had changed as well – didn't her reflection in the water show her to be a woman grown, and not the child he'd left behind? But the holy man had altered, too.

There were tight lines around his mouth, a trace of something painful in his eyes. When she had first met him, Miroku-sama had not been so care-worn, had he? Oh, there had still been that solemnity at the back of his soft gaze, that touch of something that told Koharu that all was not as carefree as the monk would have her believe, but he had not seemed so _determined_ back then. His shoulders had not had that faint tension to them, as if they carried a burden too heavy for one man to shoulder.

Or had they? Was it possible that the holy man had not changed at all, that she was merely seeing him through different, adult eyes? She had remembered him as the handsome, smiling man who had saved her with his food and his promise to return, and she had clung to this memory throughout her dreary years as the oil-merchant's chattel.

For the last three years, she had carried Miroku-sama's promise within her heart. A frown briefly crossed Koharu's face as she considered the possibility that her memories had played her false. What if – she swallowed hard, pushing back the rising uncertainty within her – what if Miroku-sama was not the hero she remembered, but instead an ordinary man?


	6. Green

Originally Posted August 16th, 2005 at the Live Journal community, 30shards

**Title:** Green  
**Character:** Koharu  
**Theme:** #19 Jealousy  
**Word Count:** 141  
**Summary:** What did the taijiya have that she, Koharu, didn't?

**Green**

She'd just met her, and she already hated her.

A sudden rush of shame filled Koharu. It wasn't like the taijiya had done anything wrong, Koharu thought. She'd been kindness itself, filled with concern for Koharu's well-being.

What was it, Koharu wondered, that made the taijiya so special? What entitled the woman to such tender, fleeting looks from the monk? Was it the sadness in her eyes, the pain that refused to recede even when the woman was smiling? Maybe it was the way she held herself, that touch-me-not stance that shouted of her independence and strength.

Still, the woman acted more like a man! How did she manage to hold Miroku's interest? Koharu winced at she heard the crack of Sango's palm meeting Miroku's face. Other than a bruising slap, just what did the taijiya have that she, Koharu, didn't?


End file.
